What's Making Me Happy.., (2)

Hello my darling peeps!

I only got one thing making me happy this week but it's making me SUPER HAPPY!!!

A few days ago, Meg Cabot announced she's going back to both the Princess Diaries and the Mediator Series next year, with new books for each. 

I did a little happy dance as soon as I found out!! Mediator is my favorite Meg Cabot series, I just love that world and those characters! So, yeah, that's my happy this week. 

Mediator 7:

In REMEMBRANCE (William Morrow), the seventh installment of the Mediator series, all Susannah Simon wants is to make a good impression at her first job since graduating from college (and becoming engaged to Dr. Jesse de Silva).

But when she stumbles across an ancient murder, old ghosts—and ex-boyfriends—aren’t all that come back to haunt her.

REMEMBRANCE will be the first ever adult installment of the Mediator, published by the adult division of HarperCollins, the company that brought you the YA books in the series.

Princess Diaries IX ROYAL WEDDING (William Morrow), Princess Diaries XI, Princess Mia’s planned nuptials to longtime love Michael Moscovitz are in jeopardy when the paparazzi uncover a startling secret: Mia has a long lost younger sister.

Now a scheming politico is using the royal scandal to force Mia’s father from the throne, leaving Genovia without a monarch . . . unless Mia can prove to everyone—especially herself—that she’s finally fit to rule.

ROYAL WEDDING will be the first ever adult installment of the Princess Diaries, published by the adult division of HarperCollins, the company that brought you the YA books in the series.

Princess Diaries Spin Off:

In FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF A MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCESS (Macmillan) a new middle grade series, I’m taking readers back to Genovia, this time through the illustrated diaries of a spunky new heroine, 12 year old Olivia Grace, who happens to be the long lost half-sister of Princess Mia Thermopolis.

Book Review: Twilight by Meg Cabot

In the spirit of the Meg-A-Readers Blog Hop, I'm going to be reviewing one book by Meg Cabot every sunday for the duration of the event!

This week, I'm reviewing Twilight (The Original, Actually Good Twilight, as I like to call it!)

WARNING: As Twilight is the 6th and last* book of the Mediator Series, there will be spoilers about previous books. 

At First Sight: After almost a year of dancing around it, Suze Simon finally has the one thing she wanted the most: Jesse de Silva - the ghost that used to haunt her bedroom - has admitted he loves her and they are together. 

Or as together as a 16-year-old girl and the ghost of a guy who died in 1850 can be. But Suze is happy, except when Paul Slater - fellow mediator who seems to know more about their powers than anyone else, even Father Dom - is around, threatening first to send Jesse's ghost to the shadowland... and, later, to prevent him from even dying in the first place. 

Jesse keeps telling her not to worry about it, but Suze can't help to wonder... what If Jesse never died? and they never met? 

Second Glance: Twilight is the last* book in the Mediator series and I confess that it's probably my favorite. I waited and waited for this book and I was happy at how it all turned out - for the most part. 

Over the course of so many books, Suze and Jesse have become friends and they have fallen in love, even though they know theirs is an impossible situation, that doesn't make their feelings any less real. In this book, we finally get to see how Jesse was like when he was alive and I loved getting to know him that way too. 

Suze is still one of the most kick-ass heroines ever, and I actually love the choice she made, in the end, regarding Jesse (I'm sorry if I sound cryptic, but I don't want to spoil).

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, particularly the second part. I do have a small pet peeve with this book, but it regards the ending and it's really a small thing. 

Bottom Line: The Mediator is my favorite series by Meg Cabot and Twilight one of my favorite books, I loved the progression of the series and the places this book takes you to. Over all, I thought it was a great ending* to a great series.

Favorite Quote: "Because he's honest." I said. "And he's kind. And he puts me ahead of everything else-" 

"If you think I would leave you alone with her again," he said, his gaze never wavering from Paul's face. "you don't know me at all in this future you speak of."

1/2

*  There are rummors that there might be a new adventure for the Mediator gang in the future but, if it happens, it will take at least a couple of years to see the light. 

Book Review: Darkest Hour by Meg Cabot

In the spirit of the Meg-A-Readers Blog Hop, I'm going to be reviewing one book by Meg Cabot every sunday for the duration of the event! 

This week I went back to the Mediator series - I reviewed the first book, Shadowland, before - and decided to skip to one of my favorite books: Darkest Hour (a.k.a. book 4). 

The Deal: Suze Simon thought she would spend her first summer in California having fun and working on her tan at the beach and trying to ignore her crush on Jesse de Silva (the hot ghost who haunts her bedroom), but her stepfather had other ideas in mind and Suze soon finds herself working at the Pebble Beach Hotel and Golf Resort as a staff babysitter. 

Re-Issue

And it's just her luck that she gets assigned to one of the most annoying kids ever: Jack Slater, whose wealthy parents and perfect older brother Paul are always running around playing golf or tennis. Eventually, Suze realizes what's bothering Jack: he sees dead people, much like Suze herself does. And he's the only person she knows, aside from Father Dom, the principal of her school, who can communicate with the dead.

Deciding it's for the best, Suze starts to teach Jack the ropes of being a Mediator - a liaison between the living and the dead - and how he doesn't need to be afraid of ghosts (she tactfully omits the downsides of the mediator gig). 

Meanwhile, back at home, Suze's stepfather Andy has started to dig their backyard in order to install a hot tub, only that strange things are starting to turn up, like a box full of letters addressed to "Hector de Silva" (Jesse's actual name); and soon Suze starts to suspect that there is a lot more than letters buried in there. 

My Thoughts: Darkest Hour is one of my favorite books in the series, I actually have a first edition of the book - written under Meg Cabot's pen name Jenny Carroll - which I hunted down when the book went out of print shortly before they changed the covers and re-launched the series in 2004 or 2005. 

I think this book is one of my favorites because here we finally learn more about Jesse and his past and how he died, and about the infamous Maria de Silva - Jesse's fiancé - and all that. 

Original Cover

Also, I love how the relationship between Suze and her Stepfather and brothers is evolving. In the first couple of books you could see that she still put a wall between her and the Ackerman boys - except for David, who is her favorite - but now she's letting them in a little bit more, even though she still thinks that Brad is disgusting and Jake is borderline narcoleptic there is more teasing in their relationship, and she cares about them. 

Another thing is that I find the plot of this book to be very fluid, so it goes by fast -and I enjoy a fast paced book, I admit - plus, I like to see how Suze starts to rely on other people, like her best friend CeeCee and Father Dom, and now she tries to help out Jack. 

Is there anything bad about this book? Yeah, Paul Slater. I HATE PAUL SLATER!

But then, I've always been Team Jesse, and Paul is kind of a necessary evil for the next few books. 

Favorite Quote: Jesse was the first person I met when I moved to California, and he became my first real friend here. He has always been there when I needed him, which is way more than I can say for most of the living people I know. And if I had to choose one person to be marooned on a dessert island with, I wouldn't even have to think about it: of course it would be Jesse.  - Suze.

1/2 

PS - Next  week I think I might go back to  the 1 800  books or maybe tackle Jinx! I don't know yet. 

Retro Friday (4) - Shadowland by Meg Cabot

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! 

This week I chose Shadowland by Meg Cabot. I've reviewed the Mediator Series as a whole before, but I'll talk about this one in particular. 

At First Sight: After her Mom's marriage to Andy Ackerman, sixteen year old Suze Simon has to move across the country - from NY to California - so she and her Mom can live with Andy and his sons (Sleepy, Dopey and Doc, as Suze calls them). And even though Carmel-by-the-Sea is quite pretty, and Suze has an amazing view of the ocean from her bedroom window, that doesn't take away from the fact that her new room is haunted by a (very hot, droll-worthy) 150 year old ghost. 

Yeah, Ghost! For as long as she can remember, Suze has been able to see and talk to the dead - and even to punch them in the face if they are not cooperating - as she is a Mediator, and is her job/cosmic-joke-on-her to help them get to wherever they need to go after they die - or to kick them there if the need arises.

But Jesse isn't like other ghosts, for one he's good looking, for two he doesn't plague Suze to help him with his unsolved business. He is also not very supporting of her Mediating, particularly after mediating puts her in the path of the ghost of Heather Chambers, a particularly violent ghost who's out to get Suze.

Pretty quickly, Suze realizes that just because she moved, her problems didn't move away. Luckily, she has new friends, a fellow mediator (Father Dominic, her new school's Principal), her stepbrother Doc, and Jesse to help her out.

Second Glance: Mediator is one hell of a story over all, and it's actually my favorite Teen series by YA Lit goddess Meg Cabot. Shadowland is a great kick of of the series, as all the major characters are quickly established, and Meg does a wonderful job of summarizing Suze's story pre-Carmel and getting to the main plot fast. 

I love how Suze is so kick ass, how she's ready to go on with her mediator duties much as they annoy her, how she quickly warms up to her youngest step brother Doc and really starts to care for him. She's very funny and resourceful, and so everyday normal - if you take out the whole mediator factor. And Jesse, well, I love him. He is not as much in this book as he is in later ones, but that's understandable since they just meet, but I just love when he pops in, his interactions with Suze are always fun to read.

Bottom Line: Shadowland is funny, fast paced, quick read that kicks off a great series. It has great characters and a nice plot. Not my favorite Mediator book (that would be book 4 Darkest Hour, and then maybe book 6 Twilight (the only good Twilight) ) but it's still a kick to read.

Favorite Quote: "It isn't often that I run into a ghost who also happens to be a hottie, but this guy... boy he must have been something back when he was alive because here he was dead and I was already trying to catch a peek at what was going on beneath the white shirt he was wearing very much open at the throat, exposing quite a bit of chest, and some of his stomach , too. Do ghosts have six-packs? This was not something I had ever had the occasion - or a desire - to explore before." -Suze. 

1/2

List Maniac #9 Favorite Guys of Fiction

We already did girls and now Guys!! I usually read books with girl narrators and often end up falling in love with the boys they fall in love. So, here we go! In no order in particular these are my favorite Guys of Fiction!

Jesse de Silva - Mediator (Mild SPOILER ALERT)

Oh, Jesse. He had to wait 150 years to meet the girl of his dreams and he did. Jesse is actually a ghost who inhabits Susannah's new bedroom, he was killed in that same room when he was 20 years old in the mid 1850's, and he just hanged around. There is this part in the story where Suze asks him if he knows why he's still around, and he sort of hints that he knows and that the reason is Suze. He's a gentleman, he's reluctant to fall in love with Suze because of his ghostly status, but they still become friends and they still fall in love. Jesse is a really nice guy, that's his core yet his still hot and everything - just because he's nice and gentlemanly doesn't mean he's not going to fight for what he loves (namely Suze), and he's so cute when he gets jealous!!

Wes - The Truth About Forever (mild SPOILER ALERT)
In some ways, Wes is the epitome of the Dream Guy, not that he's perfect but he's all those things any teenage girl wants. He's artistic, he's kind and he's even responsible with his feelings -as in when he starts feeling something from another girl, he ends his relationship as soon as he can, rather than dragging it out - and he still has a bit of a bad boy appeal to him. Plus, he's really handsome. But what I really like about Wes was that he was very honest, he and Macy fall in love by talking, by playing their game of truth and when it comes to facing those feelings he gives Macy the time and space to do so, even when it looks to him like he isn't going to win.


Derek - Darkest Powers (low SPOILER ALERT)
Oh Derk, Derek, Derek. I fell in love with him from mid-way through The Summoning, I just couldn't help myself. He's so socially awkward, he's not good with other people's feelings but the people he considers his pack, his family, those he fights for tooth and nail. Absolutely adore that about him. I don't think he wanted to like Chloe but he couldn't help himself and it starts to show early on the series -at least for me, I remember mentioning to a friend that I thought him and Chloe were going to end up together. Derek doesn't like being vulnerable but he allows himself to be vulnerable with Chloe, first out of necessity and then because he really wants her around, and that made me go "Siggggghh"

Heathcliff - Bard Academy Series (mild SPOILER ALERT)
I freely admit that when I first read Wuthering Heights, and when I first saw the movie with Ralph Finnes and Juliet Binoche, I couldn't quite see what was the big appeal of a character like Heathcliff. That changed when I read Wuthering High. There I could see Heathcliff as this vulnerable boy who was sure of only one thing in his life: his love for Cathy. Cathy, however, turned out to be every bit as selfish as I always thought she was. So when Miranda and Heathcliff met and became friends and all that, well I fell for him. He is the original brooding guy with a big heart. He would do anything for Miranda, he would never abandon her and I love that about him.


Jonah Griggs - Jellicoe Road
One of the first times Jonah Griggs' comes up during Jellicoe Road, Taylor says that he is "not only a name but a state of mind I don't care to revisit" or something like that. Slowly we start to see what happened between them a few years ago and why things are what they are between them, for good and bad. But some feelings are too strong to hide and so happens with Jonah and Taylor. He has one of the most awesome lines ever: "I'm here because of you. You're my priority. Your happiness, in some fucked way, is tuned into mine. Get that through your thick skull. Would I like it any other way? Hell, yes, but I don't think that will happen in my life time." He has had so much crap happen to him yet he's still a decent guy, he loves his family and he loves Taylor. Jonah knows Taylor is one hell of a tough cookie, but he still can't help to give in into his impulses to protect her but he never takes over, he's just there for her.

Those are my guys. What about yours?

The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot

The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot

Meet Suze Simon: she's sixteen, her Mom just married a man with three sons, and moved her from New York City to Carmel-by-the-Sea in California. Oh, and she she is a Mediator, which means she can see and touch ghosts. In fact there is a ghost in her new bedroom.

Jesse de Silva was a young rancher who was killed at the age of 20 circa 1850 in Suze's bedroom back when her house was a boarding house. Ever since his untimely death, Jesse has stayed there not sure why he isn't anywhere else.

When Jesse first sees Suze - whom he calls Susannah, as in the song "Don't you cry for me" - and realizes she can see him and touch him, he's thrilled, even though, at first, Suze isn't so happy with the idea of a ghostly roommate.

Through the course of the six books that make this series, we get to know Suze and her new family, her friends old and new, her ghostly dad, and Jesse's past; not to mention Paul Slater, and the extent of a Mediator's powers.

Mediator is likely my favorite Meg Cabot Series so far - Airhead is running a close second right now, tied with 1-800-Where-R-U - Suze is the type of heroine more books should have: strong, smart and butt-kicking; she kind of reminds me of Buffy at times. And Jesse... well, he makes for a GREAT leading guy.

If you're looking for a series that's paranormal, has great characters, romance and a satisfying ending, pick up Mediator. You won't regret it one bit.

AnimeGirl's Personal Favorite